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http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.201105987 | DOI Listing |
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl
January 2025
Umeå Universitet: Umea Universitet, Department of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, 90187, Umeå, SWEDEN.
Optogenetic systems using photosensitive proteins and chemically induced dimerization/proximity (CID/CIP) approaches enabled by chemical dimerizers (also termed molecular glues), are powerful tools to elucidate the dynamics of biological systems and to dissect complex biological regulatory networks. Here, we report a versatile chemo-optogenetic system using modular, photoswitchable molecular glues (sMGs) that can undergo repeated cycles of optical control to switch protein function on and off. We use molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to rationally design the sMGs and further expand their scope by incorporating different photoswitches, resulting in sMGs with customizable properties.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe mu-opioid receptor (MOR) is a major target for the treatment of pain. However, opioids are prone to side effects which limit their effectiveness as analgesics and can lead to opioid use disorders or, even, lethal overdose. The systemic administration of opioid agonists makes it both very difficult to decipher their underlying circuit mechanisms of action and to limit drug action to specific receptor subpopulations to isolate therapeutic effects from adverse side effects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
December 2024
PSI Center for Life Sciences, Villigen PSI, Switzerland.
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest family of cell surface receptors in humans. The binding and dissociation of ligands tunes the inherent conformational flexibility of these important drug targets towards distinct functional states. Here we show how to trigger and resolve protein-ligand interaction dynamics within the human adenosine A receptor.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Phys Chem A
December 2024
Department of Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States.
Diaryl thieno-[3,4-]thiophenes (TT) are photoswitchable compounds that operate through reversible photoinduced cyclization/cycloreversion and have been designed specifically for integration within π-conjugated polymers to switchably manipulate polymer electronic properties. Here we report on how cross conjugating the central TT moiety impacts photocyclization dynamics as interrogated using transient absorption spectroscopy (TAS) for a series of switches built with electron-rich substituents that have various electronic interaction strengths with the TT core. For cross-conjugated structures exhibiting a propensity to switch in steady-state photoconversion experiments, ultrafast TAS reveals signatures of rapid dynamics (occurring within <1-10 ps) similar to those observed for unsubstituted switches and that are consistent with photocyclization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMethods Mol Biol
December 2024
University of Münster Institute of Physiological Chemistry and Pathobiochemistry, Münster, Germany.
The precise spatial and temporal regulation of cell-cell adhesions is crucial for understanding the underlying biological processes and for assembling multicellular structures in tissue engineering. Traditional approaches have relied on chemical membrane functionalization and regulated gene expression of native cell adhesion molecules (CAMs), but these methods lack the necessary control and can be detrimental to cells. In contrast, engineered photoswitchable cell-cell adhesions offer a reversible and dynamic regulation at a single-cell resolution.
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